1. Heard Mr. K. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioners; Mr. R. Borpujari, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue and Disaster Management Department for the respondent no. 1; Mr. H. Sarma, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 & 3; and Ms. P. Seyie, learned counsel on behalf of Mr. R.M. Das, learned Standing Counsel, Water Resources Department for the respondent no. 4.
2. The petitioners, 7 [seven] in nos., have joined together to institute the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution stating that they have a common cause of action.
3. Having regard to the subject-matter involved in this writ petition and as submitted by the learned counsel for the parties, notice is issued. As the concerned records are available and as submitted by Mr. Borpujari, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, and as agreed to by the learned counsel for the other sides, the notice is made returnable forthwith.
4. It is the case of the petitioners that they are landowners of periodic patta lands, which are located at Village – Garal, Mouza – Ramcharani, Lat no. 2, Sub-Division – Guwahati, District – Kamrup Metropolitan and they have described their plots of land in the following manner :-
| Sl. No. | Name | Patta | Dag |
| 1. | The petitioner no. 1 | 496 | 531 |
| 2. | The petitioner no. 2 | 298 | 509 |
| 3. | The petitioner no. 3 | 197 | 506 |
| 4. | The petitioner no. 4 | 298 | 509 |
| 5. | The petitioner no. 5 | 89 | 507 |
| 6. | The petitioner no. 6 | 561 | 511 |
| 7. | he petitioner no. 7 | 197 | 506 |
| 562 | 512 |
FORM 'B' LA Case No. 4/2026/431 ORDER [See Rule 4 and Section 3(1)]
In exercise of the powers conferred on me under Section 3[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 [Act XV of 1964] under Notification No. RLA.81/93/5-A dated Dispur, the 15th of July 1993, 1, Sri XXXXXXX, IAS, District Commissioner & Collector, Kamrup Metropolitan District, Guwahati, do hereby requisition under Section 3[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964, the land describe in the Schedule below with the effect from the date of this order, for the purpose of acquisition of land for Construction of drainage system in and around LGBI Airport.
6. On the same date, 22.05.2026, another Order in Form ‘C’ purportedly under Section 4[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 [‘the 1964 Act’, for short] was served upon the petitioners along with others. Apart from the description of the land, described therein, the contents of the Order passed in
Form ‘C’ read as under :- LA-4/2026 Form ‘C’ [See Rule 5 and Section 4(1)]
Whereas the land described below has been requisitioned under Section 3[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 [Act XV of 1964] you, being the owner/tenant/person in occupation of the said land, are directed to surrender or deliver possession of the requisitioned land to the Collector of Kamrup Metropolitan District, Guwahati within 15 days from the date of service of this order.
7. It is the contention advanced on behalf of the petitioners that though the power of acquisition is available with the respondent authorities under the provisions of the 1964 Act but for requisition of land for the specific purposes laid down therein, the procedure prescribed must be adhered to and by serving the Order under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1] of the 1964 Act upon the petitioners on the same date, the petitioners have been deprived of the opportunity of making an appeal to the State Government available under Section 3[3] of the 1964 Act.
8. In order to appreciate such submission of the petitioners, it is relevant to refer to the provisions of Section 3 and Section 4 of the 1964 Act. For ready reference, the relevant portions of Section 3 and Section 4 are quoted hereinunder :-
3. Power to requisition.
[1] If in the opinion of the State Government or any person authorized in this behalf by the State Government it is necessary so to do, for maintaining supplies and service essential to the life of the community or for providing proper facilities for accommodation, transport, communication, irrigation, flood control and anti-erosion measures including embankment and drainage or for providing land individually or in groups to landless, flood affected or displaced persons, or to a society registered under the Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 1949 [Assam Act I of 1950], or a company incorporated under Companies Act, 1956 [Act I of 1956], formed for benefit and rehabilitation of landless, flood affected or displaced persons or to provide land for the purpose of construction of border fencing and allied works, including border roads and check posts connected therewith, along Bangladesh border the State Government or the person so authorized, as the case may be, may by order in writing, requisition any land and may make such further orders as appear to it or to him to be necessary or expedient in connection with the requisitioning.
[2] An order under sub-section [1] shall be served in the prescribed manner on the owner of the land and where the order relates to land in occupation of a tenant, also on such tenant.
[3] When the order for requisition is made by any authority other than the State Government, any person interested in the land, within 30 days from the date of service of the order, may appeal to the State Government and the decision of the State Government in such appeal shall be final.
4. Power to take possession of requisitioned land.-
[1] Where any land has been requisitioned under Section 3, the State Government or the person authorized in this behalf by the State Government may, by order in writing, direct the owner, the tenant, or any other person who be in possession of the land whether at the time of requisition or at any time thereafter before the land whether at the time of requisition or at any time thereafter before the land is released from requisition or under Section 8 to surrender or deliver possession thereof to the Collector or any other person duly authorized by him in this behalf within such days of the service of the order as may be specified therein.
[2] If any person refuses or fails to comply with an order made under sub-section [1] the State Government or the person authorized in this behalf, in addition to any other provisions in this Act, may take possession of the land and may, for that purpose, use such force as may be necessary.
[3] An order under sub-section [1] shall be served in the prescribed manner on the owner of the land and whether the order relates to land in occupation of a tenant or any other person also on such tenant or occupant.
9. As per the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Rules 1964, an Order of requisition under Section 3[1] shall be in Form ‘B’ as far as may be with such modification, if any, as may be necessary. On the other hand, an Order under Section 4[1] of the 1964 Act shall be in Form ‘C’, where the surrender or delivery of position is to be made by any person other than the Collector. Rule 11 has inter alia prescribed the manner of service of Orders passed under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1] of the 1964 Act.
10. A contention has been advanced on behalf of the State respondents to the effect that the 1964 Act provides for speedy acquisition of land in certain cases. It is submitted that subsection [1] of Section 9 is with a non-obstante clause. As per Section 9[1], notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions mentioned before, if in the opinion of the State Government or the Collector, it is necessary or expedient to acquire speedily any land for works or other development measures in connection with flood control and anti-erosion measures including embankments and drainages or for the construction of border fencing and allied works, etc., it is open for the Collector by order in writing to acquire a land speedily by stating the area and boundaries thereof. It is further submitted that the Order under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1] have been passed for the purpose of construction of drainage system in and around Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and therefore, the Orders issued under Sections 3[1] and Section 4[1] were under such emergency powers.
11. It is settled that requisition and acquisition are two different and distinct concepts. In case of acquisition, the title passes to the acquiring authority along with the possession. On the other hand, in case of requisition, the title remains with the owner but the possession goes to the requisitioning authority. One is taking over the title and possession, and the other is taking over of the possession, but not the title. Whereas acquisition involves an element of permanency and finality involving a transfer of title; the concept of requisition is merely to take over the domain or control over the property without acquiring the rights of ownership and it is ordinarily understood that requisition by its very nature is of temporary duration. The said decision is also clear from Section 8. Section 8 has provided that where any land requisitioned under Section 3 is not acquired and is to be released from requisition, it reverts back to the owner in as good a condition as the land was when possession thereof was taken subject only to the changes caused by a reasonable wear and tear and irresistible force.
12. This Court is not persuaded to accept such contention advanced on behalf of the State respondents that the power under Section 9 is exercisable after serving an Order under 3[1] and an Order under Section 4[1] on the same date. Section 9 is with regard to speedier acquisition. It is by exercise of power vested in the State Government under Section 6 the State Government has to take a decision regarding acquisition of land which has been requisitioned under Section 3. Such power to acquire is solely vested in the State Government and is not vested in the Collector. There is no provision in Section 6 to delegate the authority to take decision under Section 6 to the Collector to acquire the requisitioned land. Any decision to acquire land under Section 6 is to be published in the Official Gazette. On a query, it is conveyed that no Order under Section 6 has been published in the Official Gazette under the State Government till date. Section 9 is for speedy acquisition of land and as such, a decision under Section 9 can only be taken either simultaneously or after an Order under Section 6 is passed, which can only be passed by the State Government.
13. It is clear from sub-section [3] of Section 3 that when the Order for requisition is made by any authority other than the State Government, any person interested in the land, within thirty days from the date of service of the notice, may appeal to the State Government and the decision of the State Government in such appeal shall be final. It is evident from Section 3[3] that when an Order under Section 3[1] is passed by the Collector as an authority authorised on behalf of the State Government, a right is vested on a person interested to prefer an appeal to the State Government for exemption of his land from the purview of requisition and the decision of the State Government in such appeal shall be final. In the event the appeal is allowed in favour of the appellant, no further process for requisitioning his land can be taken by the Collector.
14. It has been asserted on behalf of the petitioners that after serving the copies of the Orders passed under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1] on the same date, 22.05.2026, construction works are being undertaken in the petitioners’ plot of land and in the process, the nature and character of the petitioners’ plots of lands are being changed which process if allowed to continue, would be irreversible.
15. A right to appeal under Section 3[3] is a substantive right afforded to a landowner or a person interested in the land sought to be requisitioned. By the process of serving both the Orders passed under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1], the petitioners are seen to be not given the time period to prefer such an appeal. From a perusal of the records pertaining to the requisition process, placed by Mr. Borpujari, it does not emerge that the opportunity to file an appeal before the State Government, despite the above Orders were passed by the Collector, has been afforded.
16. Though the Court has noticed the said infraction of the statutory prescription, it cannot also be oblivious of the fact that the purpose for which the Orders under Section 3[1] and Section 4[1] have been passed is for construction of a drainage system in and around the International Airport, which is a permissible activity for requisition under the 1964 Act.
17. In the above obtaining fact situation, this Court is of the considered view that to balance, the equities, the Order under Section 4[1] passed in Form ‘B’ is to be kept in abeyance so as to permit the petitioners to file an appeal before the State Government under Section 3[3] of the 1964 Act. If the petitioners intend to file an appeal under Section 3[3] of the 1964 Act, such appeal shall be filed within a period of 15 [fifteen] days from today and upon receipt of such appeal, the State Government shall decide the appeal as expeditiously as possible on merits. In the event no such appeal is preferred by the petitioners within a period of 15 [fifteen] days from today then the Order under Section 4[1] will take effect after expiry of fifteen days from today. If an appeal or appeals is/are filed by the petitioners within a period of 15 [fifteen] days, then, the Order passed under Section 4[1] will abide by the decision taken by the State Government in the appeal[s] and the Order under Section 4[1] shall remain in abeyance in so far as the present petitioners are concerned till that time. The parties are to maintain status quo existing as on today, as regards the petitioners’ plots of land are concerned, till the decision made in the appeal[s], as mentioned hereinabove. It is further clarified that this order is passed only in respect of the plots of land of the petitioners are concerned and in case of no other plots of land where Orders are passed under Section 3[1] in L.A. Case no. 4/2026.
18. With the observations made and directions given above, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall, however, be no order as to cost.
19. The records of L.A. Case no. 4/2026, placed by Mr. Borpujari, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue and Disaster Management Department is returned back.